Coloration process.



UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE. I

mmx'ron' n. AVIS, .13., or wnnnncn, WEST VIRGINIA.

conoiwnon rnocnss.

No drawing.-

' To all whom. it may concern:

vapor, w1

Be it known'that I, BRAXTON D. AVIS, J r., a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Wallace, in .the county of Harrison and State ofWest Virginia, have invented a new and Improved Coloration Process, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact descrlption.

My invention. relates to coloration processes, my more particular purpose bein to provlde a simple and mexpenslvemethog of producing iridescent tints and colorations upon glass or upon o" aque surfaces requirmg comparatively litt ev preparation.

I have made the discovery that mercurous mtrate, Hg (N 0,) if spread over ,a surface and brou ht into contact with ammonia form or develop curious and grotesque spots having different colors, and

ance hig y ornamental and attractive.

a so havin generally a'niridescent appear- I have also discovered that'the colors in questlon can be fixed and retained for indefinite 'lengths of time, as hereinafter described. -In

addition to the above, I 'havediscovered that the precise manner of applying the mercurous nitrate to the surface to be colored is immaterial, for the reason that the application of the mercurous. nitrate may be made in various ways. I proceed as follows: To one ounce of dist1lle waterI adda few drops ofnitric acid I and also a few drops of metallic mercury.

This is for the purpose of preventing mercuric salts from forming, at a more advanced stage of the process. I- add 'fiftyfive grains of mercurous nitrate in powdered form and .shakethe mixture untiLthe mercurous nitrate is thoroughly dissolved. in the saturated water. I then prepare another solution consisting of" distilled water and gelatin, in the proportion of twelve 'distilled water to one art of latin. After the gelatin becomes. t oroughy softened, I place it in coldwater, adding theretoa few drops of nitric acid. This completes the second solution which, for convenience l designate as a gelatin solution. I next add one part, bywei ht, of the gelatin solution to two parts of t e mercurous filtrate solution, thus formin an emulsion which I next pass through a'fi ter. p

A good plan is to apply the emulsion directly to t e surface to be treated. -If the parts of Specification of Letters Patent." Patented Sept. 7, 1909. Application filed February 4, 1999. Serial No. Home surface happens to be porous, as is the case with paper, horn, wood and ;the like, it is desirable to first apply a coating'of varnish. If the surface is metallic, a coating of varnish renders itmore suitable for the purpose; especially if the metallic surfacewis readily 1 acted upon by-mercurous salts.

The emulsion may be applied by any suitable means, such as a brush, a spray or even by merely pouring a small quantity of the emulsion upon the surface and allowing the superfluous liquid to drain off. The emulsion can even be applied to a surface having the form of an ornamental pattern or design. After the emulsion is applied in any of the various Ways above sug' ested, or otherwise, the surface thus treate is exposed to the action of vapor of ammonia. The proper" treated appear to be rendered slightly crystalline by the action of the ammonia vapor, and when thesurface treated is exposed to :1 strong light and 'is moved slightly, the various colors flash rapidly in-succession over the surface and seem to undergo changes in-ap pearance. The effect is probably due toan interference phenomenon in which the crys talline character of thesnrface is related in some way to the various wavelengths of the light employed.

Another way of practicing" my invention is to spread upon any suitablesurface a coating of elatin, allowing the-same to dry, then app ying to this coating a solution of mercurous nitrate, allowing this to dry, and finally exposing the surface thus treated to the action of. ammonia vapor. The final re-. "sultis not materially different from that'obtained as above described with reference toscribed are well fixed and-- are permanent.

By washing the surface in cold water, the colors are removed and the surface readily bleached. I

I do not limit myself the precise details I above enumerated, for the reason that within proper limits my process ma be varied, the sco of my invention being commensurate wit my claims.

Having thus-'gdescribed my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: 1. Themethod'herein described which coning a surface, which consists in placing upon said surface a thin coating of ercurous mtrate and bringing said surface thus treated. into contact w1th ammonia vapor.

3. The coloration process herein described,

which consists in bringing together upon a surface to-be treated, mercurous nitrateand ammonia; 20

4. The-method herein described of coloring a surface, which consists in applying varnish to said surface, placing upon said varnish a thin coating of mercurous nitrate and subjecting said coating to the action of 5' ammonia.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' BR'AXTON D. AVIS, JR.

Witnesses: G. H. FLEEGER, EDGAR BELL. 

